Companies we Love: Jade Yoga

Jade Yoga Mats advertise themselves as the “simply the planet’s best eco-friendly yoga mat.” A tall order to be sure, but one that Jade proves to be true again and again. Green Living Ideas was recently send a Jade mat to review, and it’s my favorite mat for my yoga practice. For many years I used an old, hand-me-down yoga mat, and practicing on a new mat is quite lovely, but better still is that the company is truly great.

Maybe you haven’t thought much about your yoga mat (or pilates or gym mat, whatever workout you do!)? But you should, because according to Oprah.com, most other yoga mats made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). PVC is not good for our bodies or the planet, and while it makes for a grippy, sticky mat, it’s not really the best choice. These mats are affordable because of their low-quality ingredients and dubious manufacturing process, but there is no safe way to create, use or destroy these mats. Also, these mats tend to wear out rather quickly and literally disintegrate as you practice.

But Jade Yoga mats are different. All Jade yoga mats are made from open cell, natural rubber, which means that they are not sticky like those other yoga mats, but it also means that they don’t get slippy if you have a particularly sweaty practice. This natural rubber ingredients lead to exceptional resilience and a good, cushy place to practice. Most of the mats are 3/16-inches thick, but others are thicker or thinner depending on your needs. My most recent yoga mat was a Jade also, and it took years before it started showing wear and tear. Even after five or more years of regular practice it was only worn near the back, breaking apart slightly from hundreds of downward dog poses.

Not only is the natural rubber good for our yoga practice, it’s good for our planet too. Natural rubber is tapped from rubber trees, which is a naturally sustainable resource. Jade also makes yoga blocks to help elevate your practice. Jade Yoga Blocks are made with 100% balsa wood, a rapidly renewable resource. They work with Trees for the Future and preserve 100 square feet of rainforest with each block sold, and they plant a tree for every mat sold. Finally, Jade mats are made in the USA in compliance with all U.S. environmental and labor laws.

Jade also has the 3R program: Reuse, Reduce, Recycle. They work with yoga teacher volunteers to make use of old mats to teach in shelters, schools, prisons, rehabilitation centers and more. This keeps yoga mats out of the landfills and encourages more folks to learn from the healing practice of yoga. They also have a great list of 25 things to do with your old yoga mat, including using as floor protectors on furniture, creating baseball bases, and even in your car!

Green Living Ideas would like to thank Jade Yoga for sharing a beautiful purple Harmony mat for us to use.

Images from the company, used with permission

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Tags: latex, PVC, recycle yoga mat, rubber, yoga mat

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